Franks Planning Officials And Checks In On NU

Brandon Cavanaugh

09/25/2005

Dominique Franks came out of the off-season with a mission: To be regarded as the best cornerback in the state of Oklahoma. Now that's a pretty tall order, but so far, it appears to be one that Franks can live up to. We sat down with Dominique to find out about his on the field accomplishments, the recruiting trail and how his relationship with Nebraska has gone thus far.

Much like Nebraska's own Cortney Grixby, Dominique Franks has all the reason to ask, "Who says you have to be 6'2" to play cornerback?" Thus far in Franks' season, he has been a dynamo and his coaches are using him in just about every legal way they can. "I'm having a breakout season," he said.

"I have five interceptions on nine passes thrown my way. Really, I should have eight but three got called back because of other pass interference calls. I have two rushing touchdowns, two interceptions returned for touchdowns and a kickoff return touchdowns. Just this week, the coaches put me on the punt return unit," said Franks. It doesn't take much to see why.

Still, despite the successes he's had, there are a few areas in which Dominique feels he can improve upon. "I'd have to say my tackling because this is only my second year playing on the corner, but I work on it every day in practice and I just keep going hard," he said. Franks' Union High School team is 3-1 thus far on the season.

Looking at official collegiate visits, things are either in the planning stages or still up in the air. "I'm trying to schedule an official next month to Miami and I want to get to Tennessee during the second week of December," said Franks. He reports that his favorite school is currently the Miami Hurricanes. "They're the school I grew up watching and I fit into their schemes. As for the rest of the schools after me, pretty much everybody's in the race, so it's not an exact thing right now," he said.

When asked about his stance on Nebraska, Franks' voice seemed to perk up a bit. "They're in it really well. That's a great tradition for a football school, that's a real plus," he said. As far as an official visit to Lincoln goes, Franks calls it "a maybe" at this point. "I couldn't really say right now, it depends on how things keep going," he said.

He reports that Nebraska, more specifically Defensive Line Coach John Blake, calls him a lot. When asked about his best qualities, Franks responded, "I would say it's how he talks. I'm a high school player and he's trying to recruit me but when you talk to him it's more than just a football aspect. We're not just talking football and the guy's a comedian. He always makes me laugh," Dominique said.